Christmas
by StarCatchers42
Summary: It's Christmas in Jump City and everyone's in the holiday spirit. Except for Raven, of course. Will this Christmas just be another depressing holiday for the empath, or can Beast Boy help change that? BBRae and some RobStar.
1. Chapter 1

Hey everyone!

In the spirit of the holidays, I decided to write a fanfic about Christmas in Jump City. In the show, there were never any _Earth _holidays, just Tamaranian ones, so here's how I think the Titans would celebrate Christmas. For those of you who are worried, no, this will not be religious in any way, shape, or form.

Hope you all like it!

Starshadow

* * *

**Christmas**

Raven woke up promptly at six o'clock. Yawning widely, she glanced at the clock on her bedside table, confused. Why did she wake up so early? It didn't bother her really; Raven loved the peacefulness and quiet of early mornings. But still, she normally slept in a bit later, especially on weekends. Seconds later, the drowsy empath got her answer. It was the day of Christmas Eve. She never really could sleep the day of a holiday.

She remembered the first Christmas she had celebrated. She had been unsure at first whether or not she should. After all, Christmas was when all the _good _children got presents, and she wasn't exactly the textbook example of a good person. Sure, she helped the Titans save the city from various villains on a regular basis, but still, she was the child of a demon. A witch. A sorceress. She didn't feel right celebrating being good along with the other Titans when she, in her opinion, didn't deserve to celebrate _anything_.

The others had tried to change her mind, of course. Starfire had showered her with heartfelt pleas, innumerous hugs, and home cooking, the last two of which did not help in the least. Robin had tried to affect her conscience, asking her to celebrate with them or she would be "letting the team down." When that line of approach had failed, he said he would sign her up for double morning training. Cyborg had had much the same idea as his leader, threatening to use the best of his blackmail against her unless she came and participated in the festivities. Regardless of all the flattery, pleading, instructing, and threats, Raven had remained unsure.

The one who had finally managed to convince her was, oddly enough, none other than Beast Boy. Robin had obviously gone to complain to the changeling about the stubborn empath, because the day of Christmas Eve, he had come to her. She remembered bracing herself for a huge argument, violence, or even, Azar forbid, "The Face". Instead, he had calmly looked her in the eyes and said simply "Raven, no matter what others may tell you, and no matter what you may think, you are always good enough." And then he had walked away, leaving the dumbfounded half-demon staring at his retreating form, suddenly feeling like she was worth the world.

Raven smiled slightly at the memory. Ever since that day two years ago, she had participated in the festivities without comment or complaint. Today, she was sure, would be no different.

With a sigh, the purple haired teen reluctantly slipped out of her bed. Putting on her cloak as she walked, Raven headed to the common room. Much to her surprise, the other Titans were already gathered, waiting for her she supposed, in front of the couch.

"Morning sleepy head." Beast Boy teased, that ever-present grin on his face.

"I'm up earlier than you normally, so don't start on me." Raven grumbled. "Why are we up early today anyways?"

"Well, we haven't decorated or gotten a tree yet, so I though that we should probably get going." Robin said. Damn him and his stupid ever-planning mind.

"This shall be most amusing, you shall see, friend Raven!" Starfire chirped. "The decorating of the tree of Christmas is quite enthralling!"

Raven sighed. Outnumbered, as always. "Fine, where are the decorations? Let's get this over with."

"Alright." Robin said, immediately going into commander mode. "Beast Boy, Raven, and Starfire, put up anything that goes on the walls or ceiling. Cyborg and I will handle everything else. When you're finished, assemble at the couch, and we'll go get a tree. Everyone clear on what they're supposed to do?"

"We got it, Robin." Cyborg chuckled. "You don't have to go all authoritative on us."

Starfire giggled, and Beast Boy and Raven nodded in agreement.

"Sorry." Robin replied, blushing slightly. "Okay Titans, let's get to work!"

Raven drifted over to the large box of decorations sitting on the couch. She groaned inwardly at the amount of work to be done, but immediately grabbed the humongous "Merry Christmas!" banner and went to hang it by the sliding doors. It was so big, she could barely keep the thing from falling on top of her.

"Could I have some help over here?" Raven called, battling to keep the enormous banner from getting tangled up in her cloak.

"I am coming, friend!" Starfire cried, racing over to help the struggling empath untangle the large banner.

"Thanks." Raven said, voice expressionless as always, but secretly glad that the alien girl had come to her rescue. If Beast Boy had come over, she was sure he would only have made the problem worse. Speaking of which, where was he?

She glanced towards the couch and then began scanning the rest of the room. Suddenly, she stopped and turned slowly to face the ceiling. A green bird was fluttering around the ceiling, holding a fragile, glass snowflake in its beak. Alarm coursed through Raven's system as she realized what was happening.

"Beast Boy." She said, her voice carefully devoid of emotion, "Come down from the ceiling. I need your help with this banner."

Immediately the small bird fluttered down, deposited the decoration back in the box, and landed next to Raven. Shortly it began to change, resolving into the form of the idiot who had almost smashed glass all over the floor of the Tower.

"Hey Raven." He grinned. "What's up?"

She gave him one of her signature death glares, but he didn't even flinch. "Instead of breaking glass all over the place, could you actually make yourself useful for once and help me put up this banner?" She asked, making sure her voice absolutely dripped with contempt and scorn.

"Sure." Beast Boy replied, unfazed by the obviously peeved half demon. Seconds later, a dark green hawk came back with a spool of string in its beak.

"Great." Raven said sarcastically, resigning herself to an afternoon of torture, courtesy of the Tower's resident jokester. "Starfire, could you put the snowflakes up please? Just don't get over-excited or you'll break them."

"Hooray!" Starfire cried, doing an excited little back flip. "I will have the flakes of snow up shortly!"

As the over-eager teen flew off to perform her task, Raven turned her attention back to the banner. She laid it out carefully on the ground, and silently she and Beast Boy began to tie loops of string through the edges of the poster.

"Hey Raven, are these enough loops yet? Because I thought loopholes were a bad thing."

Raven sighed in defeat. She had been hoping to escape the green Titan's bad jokes by putting him to work, but obviously he was as determined to make her miserable as she was to make him disappear. "Just help me hang this up."

Beast Boy shot her a smug smile before turning back into a hawk. Gripping one of the loops in his talons, he carefully hooked it over the pegs in the wall, left over from last year. Raven took the other loop and flew up to slip it over the peg on the opposite wall. They then repeated the same process for the bottom loops. Jobs completed, they landed side by side in front of the remaining decorations. Streamers. Oh joy.

A light green bird took the streamers and flew over the wall. Grabbing a wad of silly putty, Raven followed it. Together they hung up all the streamers, and before long all the decorations were up. Raven flew over to the couch, grabbed her favourite book, and sat down to read it. About ten minutes later, she heard, rather than saw, Beast Boy and Starfire land next to her. Cyborg and Robin walked over shortly after them.

"Dude, you should see this." Beast Boy said, the awe evident in his voice.

"The decorations of Christmas are most wonderful!" Starfire smiled.

Reluctantly, Raven left her book on the couch and stood up to view their handiwork. "So? What's so special about Christmas decora..." She began, and then trailed off suddenly, awestruck by what she saw.

The living area of the Tower had been transformed into a snowy wonderland. Sparkling glass snowflakes hung from the ceiling, making it look as though it was snowing crystals. Holly lined every table and counter, and the top of the couch was covered in stretched out cotton balls, substituting as artificial snow. The humongous banner that had given her so much grief hung over the sliding doors, "Merry Christmas!" written on it with light blue paint and plenty of sparkles.

However, the decorations that impressed Raven the most were the streamers. They were intertwined the form delicate and intricate snowflakes, which looked so lifelike Raven almost expected them to start falling. It suddenly occurred to her that _she_ had not arranged the streamers like this. Robin, Cyborg, and Starfire had all been busy with their own decorations, which left only one option.

"Beast Boy," She asked, surprised, "Did you make the streamers into snowflakes?"

Before the Titan in question had a chance to reply, Robin spoke up. "Yeah, he did." Their leader answered with a smile.

"Finished them all while you were reading." Cyborg grinned.

"Are they not exquisite?" Starfire exclaimed, joy shining in her eyes.

"I guess so." Raven said, amazed. Turning, she addressed Beast Boy again. "Where did you learn how to make snowflakes like that? They're... probably the most beautiful decorations I've ever seen." She finished, looking away shyly. She suddenly realized that this was the first time she'd complemented him on, well, anything. The thought bothered her for some reason.

"I just kinda picked it up when I was learning origami." He smiled, then scratched the back of his neck, embarrassed. He glanced at her out of the corner of his eye, just realizing what she had said. "Did you just... complement me?" Beast Boy asked, astonished.

"Yes." Raven smiled. "But don't get used to it."

"Of course not." He replied, his usual grin back in place.

As soon as he went back to talking to Cyborg, Raven breathed a silent sigh of relief. She wasn't used to embarrassment, humility, or even intelligence coming from him. Partly, it had scared her, but it also made her see him differently. Maybe he wasn't just an insensitive jerk who acted stupid and told corny jokes. Raven laughed silently to herself. Now there was a thought.

Robin interrupted her musings. "Great job team! Now let's go get a tree!"

Raven followed him into the T-Car, taking her usual seat next to Beast Boy in the back of the car.

Only afterwards did Cyborg and Robin wonder why she didn't complain about the seating arrangements like she normally did.


	2. Chapter 2

Hey I'm back! Did ya miss me? :D

Sorry it took so long to upload this chapter. In explanation I am simply going to say that whoever invented speeches is now dead to me. :P Anyways, I made this chapter extra long, so please don't kill me. ^-^

Disclaimer: I do not own Teen Titans or Christmas, although I bet a lot of department stores wish they did.

On with the story!

* * *

**Chapter 2**

Raven stared out the window of the T-Car, watching the bleak landscape that was the outskirts of Jump city pass by. Starfire was telling a long and winded story of how Tamaranians celebrated Christmas, which Raven had no interest in listening to. Robin was listening just to be polite, and the rest of the Titans, like her, were just tuning the excitable girl out. Raven snorted softly to herself. She loved her over-emotional alien friend, but sometimes, she really didn't know when to stop talking.

Starfire was just beginning to describe the Tamaranian Christmas feast when Raven suddenly heard a poorly concealed gagging sound from her left. She turned and shot an annoyed glare at the green shape shifter beside her. "Was that really necessary?" Truthfully, she was just as grossed out by Star's description of live alien worms cooked in horseradish as he was, but making her think about what she wanted to do wasn't helping.

"Dude, I think I'm gonna be sick." Beast Boy groaned, his face an even more intense shade of green than normal, both hands clutching his stomach.

Starfire looked hurt by his comment, and the prankster Titan quickly noticed, straightening and trying to reassure her as best he could. "It's alright, Star, that sounds great, it's just... dead animals." He finished, a shudder of disgust shaking his body.

The Tamaranian's expression softened, and Raven watched with amusement as Beast Boy visibly relaxed. "That is quite alright, friend Beast Boy! I had forgotten that you did not like the harming of the animals." The Tamaranian immediately treated the relieved shape shifter to what Raven imagined was a bone crushing hug.

Beast Boy groaned slightly as several audible cracks resonated through the air, causing Cyborg to snicker from his place at the wheel.

Raven smiled sadistically as she leaned over to whisper to the suffering changeling. "You're not getting away that easily." Beast Boy glared at her as best he could from within Starfire's suffocating embrace.

"Alright, Star, that's enough hugs for now." Robin interrupted from the front seat, his amusement plain in his voice.

"Unbuckle, y'all, we're here!" Cyborg grinned, hopping out of the T-Car and waiting for the others next to Raven's door.

Once they were all assembled, the Titans strode into the forest of coniferous trees that was the tree farm.

"I'm assuming by your determined expression that we're cutting our own?" Beast Boy asked, clearly not looking forward to having to find and chop down a tree in the forest of possibilities.

"Yep." Robin replied simply, completely missing the green Titan's exasperated tone of voice. "Okay, Titans, split up! If you find a good tree, send up a signal so we know where you are!" The five of them dispersed immediately, and Raven soon lost the others in the sea of trees.

As she floated aimlessly through the forest, Raven inspected each tree, looking them over, criticizing them, and moving on. She had no doubt that the others would find a tree before she did, and so she was not too concerned about finding the perfect one. Raven stopped before a decent looking tree, running her hands over the needles. She was unprepared for the sudden prickling pain in her palms, and quickly moved on. _Too prickly._ Yes, there was no doubt the others would find a Christmas tree before her.

Almost as if on cue, a green starbolt shot straight into the air, about 25 meters away from where Raven was standing. Estimating her friend's location, Raven phased through the ground and appeared seconds later at Starfire's side, shooting her a questioning glance.

The Tamaranian girl gestured excitedly at the tree in front of her. "Is it not beautiful?" she smiled, bouncing up and down joyfully.

Raven stared, unimpressed, at the tiny tree. "Our living room has eight foot ceilings." She deadpanned, albeit more kindly than she would have with any of the other members of the team. "I don't think this would fill the space."

"Oh." Starfire said simply, slightly disappointed but, to the empath's relief, not sad. She brightened immediately as one of Robin's exploding disks soared above the trees and detonated with a concussive bang. "Shall we go help the others with the finding of the tree?"

Raven allowed herself a tiny smile, for once grateful for her friend's ability to bounce back from anything. "Let's go see what sort of tree Robin's found."

As it turned out, Robin and Cyborg had been working together to find a tree. The result, Raven had to admit, was impressive. An enormous tree towered above them all, its shape a perfect cone.

"Excellent find, friends!" Starfire exclaimed. "This tree is most extraordinary!"

"Isn't it awesome?" Robin asked, smiling widely.

"Biggest one in the entire forest." Cyborg boasted.

"Sorry to rain on your parades," Raven interrupted, "but isn't this tree a little bit taller than the height of the living room?"

Cyborg's shoulders visibly sagged. "Right. Forgot about that."

Robin looked slightly annoyed that someone had pointed out a flaw in his choice. "Okay, let's keep looking." He said, looking back at the tree one last time before disappearing into the forest.

Raven continued on her way, passing by dozens of trees, but unable to find one that met her high standards. She wondered briefly where Beast Boy was. Knowing him, he was probably goofing off somewhere or climbing a tree for fun. Shaking her head slightly at the image of a small green monkey scampering up a pine tree, the purple haired teen continued her search for the ideal tree. Too short. Too bare. Too yellow. Too tall. Suddenly, Raven stopped in her tracks. There it was.

In front of her stood a tree she guessed was about seven feet tall, shaped perfectly like a cone and covered in soft, green needles.

Raven raised her hand over her head, pale fist immediately glowing with black energy. She was just about to send out the flare of black energy when something green collided with her at an incredible velocity. The empath found herself flying through the air, and just managed to right herself before she collided with the ground. Raven whirled around to face her attacker, hands encased with a nimbus of darkness.

Beast Boy looked dazedly up at her from where he sat on the ground, having obviously just fallen there.

"Hi Raven." He said casually, rubbing his bruised head and wincing slightly.

"Looks like we both found the same tree." She replied drily, coaxing a chuckle out of the downed shape shifter.

"You wanna alert the others?" He asked, getting up from the ground and brushing himself off.

"Sure." Raven replied. She raised her hand once again and sent up a flare of black energy, which immediately exploded into dark fireworks over their heads.

"Cool trick." Beast Boy grinned.

"Thanks." Raven said, keeping her voice carefully expressionless and trying very hard not to smile at the compliment, small and offhanded as it was.

"Any time." He smiled. Raven felt warmth spread through her at the sincerity of his words.

Suddenly, the empath was tackled by a certain over-enthusiastic Tamaranian girl. "Oh, friend Raven! This tree is most amazing!" Starfire exclaimed, obviously determined to squeeze the life out of the half demon.

"Yeah, it's really impressive." Robin added with a smile.

"Structurally perfect." Cyborg commented, conveniently ignoring his friend's predicament. "I say we get it."

"Sounds good." Beast Boy grinned.

Raven twisted to face him as best she could, her violet eyes conveying annoyance and a hint of pain. "Help."

"I would, but after what you did to me earlier..." The prankster Titan replied maliciously, grin widening, "You _so _deserve it."

Raven glared at him hard enough to burn a hole through a wall. "Traitor."

"Fine." He smirked, obviously enjoying her discomfort. "Um, Star?" Beast Boy tapped the alien's arm lightly. "You're strangling Raven."

"Sorry!" Starfire exclaimed, letting go of the empath with a worried look on her face. "Are you alright?"

"Just great." Raven groaned, massaging her ribs. "Now how are we going to cut this thing down?"

There was a pause in which everyone turned to stare expectantly at Robin.

"Um... I didn't exactly think of that." Robin said, fiddling with the hem of his cape nervously.

"Dude, don't worry about it." Beast Boy grinned confidently. "I got this."

Raven watched, mildly interested, as the changeling morphed into a green beaver and began to gnaw at the base of the tree. Within seconds, the tree fell over, severed from its base by the beaver's powerful jaws.

"Oh, excellent." Raven sighed, sarcasm dripping from her every syllable in an attempt to hide how impressed she was. "We're going to have a great time getting a tree with a pointed bottom into the stand."

Beast Boy morphed back to his human self and gave her a glare that would have scared a tiger. It only made the half demon smile slightly at his obvious irritation. "I think some refining work is in order."

Holding her hands out in front of her, Raven concentrated hard on the jaggedly cut base of the tree, eyes beginning to glow white with power. "Azarath, Metrion, Zinthos!" A large, razor-sharp disk of black energy cut easily through the tree trunk, leaving an evenly cut, smooth base.

"Cool." Cyborg grinned. "I'll go get the T-Car, and then we can bring this baby home!" The empath almost smiled at his enthusiasm as he went to get his car. Almost.

"Nice work, Raven." Robin said, placing a hand on her shoulder. A small flash of anger and panic blitzed through Raven, and she immediately phased a safe distance away from him, accidentally ending up next to Beast Boy.

"Um, dude? Raven doesn't exactly like... physical contact." The green shape shifter cautioned shyly, apparently uneasy about instructing his leader. He laughed nervously as Robin and Starfire both turned to him with questioning glances, but continued nonetheless.

Raven grudgingly admired his courage for even broaching what he knew was a dangerous subject for her. "I would know from all the times she blasted me out a window for trying to pull her over to join us for, like, breakfast or something." Beast Boy turned and smiled at her apologetically. "Sorry about that."

"It's alright." She replied simply. Robin smiled, obviously relieved to be forgiven. Starfire clapped happily, glad that her friends had made amends. "Marvelous! Now all we must do is take the tree of Christmas back to the Tower!"

Her voice was soon drowned out by the sound of tires screeching to a halt. "Okay, people, let's get this tree loaded up!" Cyborg exclaimed.

Several hours later, Raven sat on the couch in the living room of the Tower, drinking tea and watching the lights on the tree shine off the ornaments and star that decorated it. The purple haired teen smiled slightly as she remembered how they had decorated it. Cyborg wiring the lights, and Robin distributing the ornaments to she, Beast Boy, and Starfire as they flew around the tree, hanging them in every square inch of free space. She sipped the warm, soothing liquid thoughtfully, actually content with the way the day had gone.

She felt, rather than saw, Beast Boy sit down next to her. "Hey." He said softly. "Hi." She replied, not taking her eyes off of the tree. "Are you okay?" Beast Boy asked, gentle concern evident in his voice. "I mean, I know what happened with Robin earlier wasn't something you wanted to... experience."

Attention caught, Raven finally tore her eyes away from the tree and turned to look at him. His emerald green eyes sparkled with genuine concern, something she was not used to from him. She shivered slightly and looked away, hiding her face behind a lock of purple hair.

"I'll be fine." She replied truthfully.

Beast Boy's face split into a wide grin. "Good to hear. Hey, are you coming to the dance tonight?"

Raven nearly choked on her tea. "What?!" She spluttered, her heart and her thoughts racing a million miles an hour.

"I didn't mean it like that." He smiled, obviously amused. "The Jump Holliday Dance is tonight, and Robin thinks it's our responsibility to go." He made a face, forcing Raven to concentrate extremely hard to fend off a giggle.

"Well, then, I guess I'm coming." She said with a tiny smile.

"Cool." Beast Boy grinned. "Then at least I'll have someone to hang out and be bored with."

"Yeah." Raven replied, her smile widening ever so slightly. Maybe the dance wouldn't be so bad after all.


	3. Chapter 3

Is that a chapter? Why, I believe it is!

Sorry for not updating for so long, I've been busy. But I'm betting you don't want to hear excuses, so anyway, here's the next chapter! There will only be about one or two more, so enjoy it! :D

Disclaimer: No, I don't own the Teen Titans, or Christmas, or Santa. Although I do own some very annoying homework. Ugh.

On with the story!

* * *

**Chapter 3**

Several hours after her conversation with Beast Boy, Raven found herself in her room, puzzling over what to wear to the dance. Normally, the half demon paid no particular attention to what she wore to the Jump Holliday Dance. As long as it was suitably fancy and not too dark for the occasion, Robin usually let her wear whatever she wanted. No one had yet forgotten what she had done to the red Santa dress Starfire had tried to make her wear the first year.

This year, though, something was different. Raven found herself actually considering style when picking her outfit. She took a dark violet dress off a hanger, giving it a cursory glance before putting it back in her closet. No, that dress was much too depressing for the occasion, not to mention it made her look even more pale than usual. With a sigh, the purple haired teen sifted through the scant number of items in her closet, waiting for something to catch her eye. She wondered why she bothered. After all, no one ever dared to judge what she wore. And yet, just this once, she wanted to look nice.

The empath was suddenly torn out of her reverie by her hand brushing against the soft material of a dress, partially hidden at the back of her wardrobe. Carefully, Raven pulled it out of her closet. She had almost forgotten she owned something like this. When she had bought it, it had been too big, but maybe now... maybe now it would fit.

As she further examined the dress, Raven allowed a rare smile to curve her lips. Yes, this would work just fine.

A few minutes of hasty preparations later, the half demon stood at the door of the common room, only now beginning to have doubts about what she was wearing. How would the others judge her? After all, it was unlike anything she had worn before. Raven was suddenly very, uncharacteristically nervous about going into the room. Opting to enter unnoticed, the empath phased through the floor, reappearing quietly in the common room.

The sight that met her eyes would have been considered by many others to be comical, but for Raven, it was only slightly amusing. Still, the dark girl couldn't help but smile at the scene playing out before her.

Cyborg was desperately trying to get the buttons on the jacket of his tux to stop magnetizing to his computerized components, flailing around and making a royal mess of the common room. Starfire whirled on towering violet heels past Raven with a loud "Wheeee!", obviously caught up in the way the skirt of her long, purple, flowing dress billowed around her. In the middle of all this chaos, Beast Boy was chilling on the couch, reading a comic, while Robin agonized about how the green shape shifter's reclined position was wrecking his tux.

Deciding that she had let herself go unnoticed long enough, Raven let out a discreet cough. "Are we going to head out, or are we all just going to sit here acting like children all night?"

"Yeah sorry Raven, we'll be going out just as soon as I can-" Raven smiled, amused, as Robin stopped mid-sentence, gaping at her. The others were slightly more tactful in their responses, although only slightly so. Cyborg stopped pulling at his buttons and simply stared, obviously stunned. Starfire gave a squeal of delight and promptly tackled the startled empath in an over-enthusiastic hug. Over the alien girl's shoulder, the purple haired girl caught Beast Boy's eye, a question evident in her violet eyes. He simply smiled ever so slightly, and Raven knew then that all the trouble picking out her outfit had been worth it.

Starfire soon released her suffocating friend, jumping back and holding Raven at arm's length so as to better examine her. "Oh, friend Raven, you look absolutely ravishing!" The alien girl exclaimed, bright green eyes sparkling.

"Thanks Starfire." Raven replied, barely able to hold back a laugh. "You look great too."

"No kidding." Robin smiled, walking over to take Starfire's hand. The Tamaranian girl giggled, blushing slightly.

"Give us a twirl, would ya, Raven?" Cyborg asked, amused, if nothing else, by the whole situation.

"I'd rather not." Raven replied coolly, her good mood immediately evaporating.

"Come on, please?" Beast Boy asked, suddenly standing beside Cyborg. He morphed into an adorable green kitten, looking up at her hopefully with shining eyes.

Raven sighed heavily. _Why the face? _ "Fine." She conceded grudgingly. "But only once."

"Thanks." Beast Boy grinned widely, emerald eyes sparkling.

Despite herself, Raven felt her heart skip a beat, before resuming its normal rhythm. She deliberately chose to blame it on her own self-consciousness and proceeded to spin lightly in a circle, causing the long sleeved, knee length, boat neck black dress to swirl lightly around her.

"Nice." Cyborg smiled. "Now that wasn't so bad, was it? Aren't you glad I convinced you to do it?"

"Thank Beast Boy." Raven replied drily. "He did all the convincing for you."

And with that, the empath swept out of the room, navigated her way to the garage, seated herself in the back of the T-Car, and waited for the others to catch up to her.

She didn't have to wait long. A few seconds later, a green pterodactyl swooped into the room, depositing Cyborg on the floor before resolving into the form of Beast Boy. Starfire flew in soon afterwards, carrying Robin. The remaining four Titans jumped into their seats, Cyborg put the pedal to the floor, and soon they were speeding towards the location of the dance.

As soon as they arrived at the park, Cyborg parked the T-Car and got out. The others followed, Raven looking apprehensively at the large crowd of people laughing, talking, eating, and dancing in the park-turned-dance venue.

"Please don't tell me they're going to announce us or something." The empath sighed. _Azar forbid._ She was already getting a headache from the overload of loud emotions streaming from the people on the dance floor.

"No." Robin smiled. "We're just here to have a good time."

"Speaking of a good time- Man, will you look at that turkey?!" Cyborg exclaimed. The half metal teen immediately took off down the sidewalk, making a beeline for the refreshments table.

Beast Boy watched him go, an immensely annoyed expression on his face. "I swear he has no respect for animals whatsoever." The green jokester sauntered after his friend, grumbling under his breath about animal cruelty.

Raven smiled with slight amusement at his departure. As flighty as he may be, the youngest Titan certainly was certainly very single-minded in trying to get his meat-loving friend to stop his carnivorous ways.

Raven suddenly felt a gentle tap on her arm. She turned to find Starfire practically bursting with excitement. "Come, friend Raven, let us go commence the dancing!"

"I'm not really much of a dancer." The half demon apologized. Upon seeing the excitable girl's dejected expression, though, she decided her answer was in need of modification.

"But I guess I could learn." The empath watched with amusement as Starfire squeaked elatedly and zoomed onto the dance floor.

"Shall we go?" Robin asked, holding his arm out to her formally. She ignored it and chose instead to proceed at a comfortable pace towards the dance.

"Let's."

For almost an hour, Raven allowed Starfire to teach her how to dance. The girl had a surprising amount of knowledge on the subject, especially considering she had been raised on an alien planet. No matter how much the empath protested, Starfire continued to instruct her on the finer principles of dancing.

Just when Raven thought the torture would never end, a slow song came floating into the cool night air. "Hey Star, do you want to dance?" Robin asked, motioning towards the middle of the floor with a blush.

"I would love to!" Starfire smiled. She turned hesitantly to look back at the purple haired teen, who had chosen to take a seat at one of the tables at the edge of the dance floor to rest. "You do not mind, do you, Raven?"

"No, of course not." Raven replied, forcing a smile to reassure her friend. "Have fun."

Starfire just had time to smile at her gratefully before Robin pulled her onto the dance floor.

Raven watched as nearly everyone divided up into couples for the slow dance. Even Cyborg had found a pretty brunette and was dancing with her near the middle of the crowd. Despite how hard she tried to convince herself that she was fine here alone, Raven began to feel loneliness gnawing at the pit of her stomach. She couldn't help but wish that she at least had someone to talk to.

"Hey dude, what's up?"

The startled empath fell out of her seat at the unexpected sound of Beast Boy's voice next to her. He caught her seconds before she hit the ground, helping her back into the safety of her chair.

"Careful." He chuckled.

Raven blushed hot with embarrassment, immediately wishing she had a hood she could hide behind. Instead, she simply fiddled with the raven pendant that hung around her neck.

"Thanks." She replied shyly, not looking at him.

"You're welcome." The empath could tell he was smiling without even being able to see his face. She heard him shift beside her, before continuing with the conversation.

"So, why are sitting here all by yourself?"

"It's a slow dance, and I don't have anyone to dance with." Raven blurted. She blushed even harder, realizing just how sad that sounded.

"Not that I would care." She added hastily, with a weak stab at her usual indifference. Raven glanced at him quickly, wondering if he had bought her story.

"Mhmm." He hummed, obviously not believing her in the slightest. "I think you care more than you're letting on."

Raven sighed heavily. Her patience and her pride were both running thin. "So? What do you think I should do about it?" She snapped.

He simply grinned at her, completely unfazed. "I'm sure there's more than a few guys who would love to dance with you. And even if not, there's got to be someone you want to dance with."

The purple haired teen felt her breath hitch slightly, her heart speeding up despite her attempts to calm it. "Well, there is one person." She murmured almost inaudibly.

"Then why don't you ask him?" Beast Boy questioned. "The last dance is coming up."

"Because he would never want to dance with me." Raven sighed.

"I'm a half demon, a witch, an emotionless Goth who just reads books and does boring stuff all day!" Her voice had started off quiet, but the empath soon found herself whisper-shouting, the tears streaming down her face despite herself.

"No one would ever want me. I'm so... creepy!" The tears fell harder as Raven sought to explain herself.

"I'm such a freak." She finished, her voice barely a whisper.

She didn't know how much longer she could stand being so alone. Raven longed so much just to be wanted, for someone to care about her. All her life, she had been insulted, put down because of who her father was and what she was destined to do. No one had ever bothered to judge Raven Roth simply by who she was, and it had broken her.

"And I'm not?" Came the soft, unexpected reply.

She looked up, startled, as a pair of gloved hands gently brushed away her tears. The smile Beast Boy gave her then was so gentle that it melted the last of Raven's resolve. So when he wrapped his arms around her, she did not push him off.

They simply stayed there for a few seconds before the purple haired girl heard the song change. "The last song is starting." Beast Boy commented quietly, his breath tickling her ear.

Raven nodded, finally pulling herself out of his embrace, standing, straightening her dress. "I should be heading back to the T-Car." She turned quickly and started walking, trying desperately to quell the immense sadness and disappointment that was welling up inside of her.

"Raven, wait." He called.

The empath turned back toward him, doing her best to keep the hope that was blossoming inside of her out of her eyes. "Yes?"

"Do you want to dance?" Beast Boy smiled, something in the way his eyes sparkled knowingly telling Raven that he finally understood her.

She couldn't help but smile back as she took his hand and led him onto the floor. "That would be... nice."

They made their way across the dance floor, walking until Raven stopped and placed her hands on Beast Boy's shoulders formally. He laughed lightly at her slight unease, slipping his hands around her waist and resting them on her back. After a moment's hesitation, Raven slid her arms around his neck, her heart beating faster as she realized just how close they were. Together, they swayed to the music, simply enjoying the moment.

And as she danced in his arms, Raven thought that maybe there _was _someone who cared.

* * *

Well, that ending was interesting. Sorry if Raven got a little OOC towards the end of the fic, but she _did_ just have a bit of a breakdown. Thank you all for reading, and please review! :)


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